Battery adapters are used for a variety of optical and/or electrical devices that can be or that need to be powered by different types and sizes of batteries. One such device is a night-vision scope. Night-vision scopes are used to intensify low-level visible and/or infrared light from a dimly lit scene so that the scene is visible to the human eye. The typical night-vision scope has an image-intensifier system that consists of an optics portion and a control (electronics) portion. The optics portion comprises an objective lens in optical communication with an image intensifier device that includes a photocathode. The objective lens images light (photons) from the low-light scene onto the photocathode. In response, the photocathode emits photo-electrons in proportion to the amount of light imaged at each photocathode location, thereby forming an electron pattern representative of the low-level scene image. The emitted photo-electrons are then accelerated by a first large voltage potential (e.g., 5000 volts) through a micro channel plate, which acts to multiply the number of electrons via secondary cascaded emission. The multiplied electrons move toward a phosphor screen via a second voltage potential, which converts each incident electron into a corresponding photon. The result is a visible-light pattern representative of the dimly lit scene and that is visible to the human eye.
The control portion of the image intensifier system includes electronic circuitry and a power source necessary for controlling and powering the image intensifier portion of the night vision system. Since night-vision scopes are portable, the power source is a battery.
There are three basic approaches to providing the necessary electrical power via battery to operate the image intensifier of a night-vision scope. The first is to use two AA 1.5-volt batteries in series to provide 3 volts to the electronic circuitry. The second is to use a single 3-volt lithium battery (e.g., a DL123 battery). The third is to use one AA 1.5-volt battery in conjunction with a step-up circuit, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,806,683 to Saldana (the '683 patent).
The '683 patent discloses a battery adapter system that uses a battery housing in combination with a step-up circuit mounted in the battery housing. The battery adapter system allows a night-vision device to use a single AA 1.5-volt battery. The motivation behind the '683 patent is that most missions where night-vision devices are used last less than 24 hours and so do not require two AA batteries. Because the single 1.5-volt battery provides the 3 volts needed, it is used up quicker than two batteries, so that the single battery is used nearly to or up to its life's end.
What is needed is a battery adapter system for use with electrical and/or optical devices that can accommodate different sized batteries having different voltages and that can also provide a constant output voltage for use by the electrical and/or optical system.